Description
You’d never guess that two vegetables form the base of this fabulous nut-free vegan mac and “cheese!” Cauliflower and sweet potato are blended with rice or soy milk, vegetable broth, and flavour makers like tamari, nutritional yeast, and Dijon mustard to make an incredibly creamy nut-free vegan cheese sauce.
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 heaping cups diced sweet potato
- 2 heaping cups cauliflower florets
- 1 cup unsweetened soy or rice milk
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 2 tbsp tahini
- 2 tbsp tamari or coconut aminos
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 1/2 cups green peas, fresh or frozen
- 6 cups dry pasta of choice (macaroni, fusilli, penne, or orichiette work best)
For serving:
- Sunflower Parmesan
- 1 batch tempeh bacon
- Pickled jalapenos
- Kimchi
- Sliced green onions
Instructions
- Make the cheesy sauce: Steam or boil the diced sweet potato until fork-tender, about twenty minutes. Towards the end of cooking time, add the cauliflower and steam or boil until both are tender but not falling apart. Drain the vegetables and set aside to cool. Once cool, place them in an upright blender.
- Add the soy or rice milk, vegetable broth, tahini, tamari or coconut aminos, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, olive oil, garlic, nutritional yeast, salt, and pepper to the blender and blend until a smooth and creamy sauce forms. Add more milk if the mixture is very thick.
- Cook the pasta according to directions on the package. Drain and pour 5 cups of sauce over the pasta. Add the peas (thawed if using frozen) and stir until all of the noodles are coated with sauce.
- You have two options now. You can either warm the mac and cheese on the stove until heated through and serve as is with desired toppings, or you can transfer it into an oven-safe skillet, top it with sunflower Parmesan, and bake at 350 degrees F it until browned around the edges, about 15 minutes. The oven method is my favourite!
- Serve the mac and cheese with prepared tempeh bacon and any other desired toppings.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Pasta, Dinner
- Cuisine: Vegan, American
Keywords: vegan nut-free mac and cheese, dairy-free mac and cheese, cauliflower pasta, cauliflower cheese sauce
